'Captain America' Is Trending In Nigeria But You Might Be Surprised Why

Katherine Du, NPR Digital Media

May 5, 2016

Some Nigerians were hoping that this scene from Captain America was filmed in Lagos — but actually it was a set in Atlanta.

(Photo: Jennifer Brett/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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Over the past few hours, Nigerians have been buzzing about "Captain America: Civil War," the latest in the Marvel Comics film series, on the Twitter hashtag #CaptainAmericaInNigeria.

Some fans are using the meme to express their excitement about the movie, which opens in theaters tomorrow. Others are using it to share photos from the opening action sequence, which looks as if it was filmed in a bustling market in Lagos (but is actually a set in Atlanta, Georgia). "Sorry to break your hearts," wrote one blogger on PartyJollof.com. "Captain America never came to Nigeria. In fact, Captain America never left America."

But most netizens — some of whom refer to the Captain as "baba," a Nigerian honorific — are using the hashtag as a vehicle for cheeky social and political commentary on everything from fuel shortages to corruption. And there's a sober note as well in an observation about the missing Chibok girls from 2014.